Just a few months after she was seen [article id="1609091"]hanging out with her ex-boyfriend Nick Jonas,[/article] and just as she departs to shoot her latest flick, [article id="1608945"]"The Last Song,"[/article]

in Georgia, [artist id="2408193"]Miley Cyrus[/artist] and Justin Gaston have broken up, according to sources cited in UsMagazine.com

and E! Online.

The couple, who began dating late last year, set the gossip blogs aflutter when they each Tweeted about feeling lonely and heartbroken, prompting many to wonder if the duo had officially called it quits. "Why does saying good-bye hurt so much?" Miley Tweeted, adding, "Life will go on. You will smile again ... we will smile again."

Meanwhile, Gaston Tweeted about his sadness without specifying why he was feeling that way. "Sleep just can't find me tonight," he wrote. "I almost fell asleep. I think I did for like 10 seconds. Obviously it didn't work out. How many tears are in* there? They've gotta run out soon right?"

Sources close to the couple have reportedly confirmed the split, saying that both Cyrus and Gaston are heartbroken, but that her friendship with Jonas may have played a part in the breakup.

"She obviously has been hanging out with Nick again a lot, and Justin was cool with it at first, as long as it was just a cool, friendly thing," the source told E! News. "She didn't cheat, but I guess Nick was trying to get her back the whole time."

The duo had recently started to hang out while working together on the song, [article id="1610051"]"Pass It On,"[/article] and she recently Tweeted about the friendship. ""I'm in a dark theater 'writing' a song with nick j who is rockin a faded eggplant shirt!"

In the June/July issue of Details magazine, Gaston denied rumors that he and Miley were living together. "No!" he said. "I live in an apartment in North Hollywood with two guys!"